Psychodynamic Therapy

explore childhood issues understand defense mechanisms

My approach to psychotherapy is relationship-based, attachment focused, and compassionate. Research shows the most powerful aspect of the healing process is the relationship that develops between you and your therapist. My goal is for us to address your challenges through open and trusting dialogue. My therapy is humanistic and integrative.

If you're feeling stuck in patterns that repeat themselves, want to find a greater sense of understanding so that you can make choices you're more satisfied with in life, and make meaning of it all, psychodynamic therapy could be a good fit for you. What most people think of when they say "therapy," psychodynamic therapy is basically an open, non-judgmental conversation with a therapist who can help guide you on your journey of building insight and improving your life's circumstances.

Your mind is complex and it is worth being curious about. Genuine change takes place within sincere relationships. Psychodynamic therapy helps people be able to use their willpower in ways that are productive. It also helps them learn from ways they try to help themselves that actually lead to more pain and frustration. It is supportive, honest, engaged, active, and oftentimes scary yet freeing. Research has repeatedly demonstrated it is the therapy of choice for people that want to reduce their symptoms in a lasting way.

I take a psychodynamic approach that explores life experiences and the meaning we assign to them in order to help client better understand their inner world. This includes identification and exploration attachment styles, childhood, adolescence, and adult experiences, hopes, dreams, and fears. The benefits of exploring and identifying these things is a better understanding one's self and why they move through life as they do. This creates space for one to make informed and healthy life choices.

I approach therapy from an object-relations perspective, in particular noting how our past experiences of interpersonal relationships from a very young age impacts how we continue to live our lives. We may find difficult patterns in our lives relate to past patterns that served to assist us in emotionally surviving or coping with past stressors. I understand human contact and our innate need to form relationships as a prime motive for much of our behavior and personality development.

Psychodynamic therapy

Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the psychological roots of emotional suffering. Its hallmarks are self-reflection and self-examination, and the use of the relationship between therapist and patient as a window into problematic relationship patterns in the patient’s life. Its goal is not only to alleviate the most obvious symptoms but to help people lead healthier lives.

In my clinical work with co-occurring disorder populations, I have drawn from a psychodynamic framework to great success. This simply means exploring one's struggles and how they tend to repeat or consistently present in a variety of contexts. It is often deeply rooted patterns that one is not even aware of that may be the cause of struggles and dissatisfaction in life. In my work, I seek to deconstruct these repetitive experiences and replace them with healthy patterns of behavior and coping.

Through this collaborative approach, I encourage the exploration of past and present emotions, beliefs, experiences, and behaviors and work with you to develop a deeper understanding of your early life experiences. Through this process, I believe individuals are able to develop meaningful insight into themselves and their lives.

Psychodynamic therapy explores the patterns and cycles that have repeated in your life, including patterns of thoughts and feelings. Together, we work to understand these cycles that you may feel trapped by. With that understanding, a path to peace and freedom opens up through self-reflection and self-compassion.

In psychodynamic therapy, I emphasize self-reflection: when you get to know and understand yourself with insight and compassion, you can better change the patterns that you want to and set yourself up for the life you want. There's an exciting freedom in therapy: we can talk about what's going on for you in therapy, in real time. By examining your relationship with me, we can learn about your "real" life as well, and bring the changes you make in therapy to your every day life.

I believe that life experiences and the meaning that we both consciously and unconsciously assign to them can be explored in therapy to help clients live a life that is intentional and grounded. This includes identification and exploration of attachment styles, childhood and adolescent experiences, dreams, fears, and hopes.